A 56-year-old man suspected of starting one of the largest structure fires in L.A. that gutted an unfinished apartment building in downtown was charged on Thursday with arson, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced.
Dawud Abdulwali was accused of using an accelerant to set the massive blaze that destroyed the Da Vinci Apartments complex on Dec. 8, causing of tens of millions of dollars in damage, according to a news release from the DA’s office.
No injuries were reported in the blaze, which took roughly 250 firefighters nearly 90 minutes to extinguish.
Prosecutors said the fire was set using an accelerant on the fourth floor of the building, which was located at 900 West Temple Street (map). Three nearby structures were also damaged in the raging blaze.
After being arrested during a traffic stop on Tuesday, Abdulwali was charged with one count of arson of a structure and aggravated arson, the release stated.
He was scheduled to make his first court appearance at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center sometime on Thursday, the DA’s office said.
During the arraignment, prosecutors were expected to ask that Abdulwali’s bail be set at $1 million.
If convicted of the charges, he faced a state prison sentence of 10 years to life, according to the release.
The Los Angeles Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the L.A. Fire Department’s Arson/Counter-Terrorism Section were continuing their joint investigation into the blaze.
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